Christmas Day

We had Christmas at my cousins this year and I was asked by his wife if I could make my gingerbread cookies as she loves them.

I also made some chocolate truffles, but was not able to get any photo's as my batteries decided to die as I was trying to take some photo's.

Christmas Cookies for Pre-School

My eldest daughter had her last day of pre-school for the year and also forever as we venture into big school next year.

They have a little christmas party and they are asked to bring a plate of food. So I thought what a great way to try a new gingerbread cookie recipe and send them in their own little bags.

The new recipe was a hit and will be staying and the kids all loved them.

Gingerbread cookies decorated with fondant, royal icing and skittles.

I had to make 24 of these. One for each of the children.

All bagged up and ready to go.

A little boy's request for a Scooby-Doo cake

My friend called up and asked if I could make her son's 7th birthday cake.

I was happy to help, and this is what they asked for. I only hope that he liked his cake.

Crunchy mudcake with milk chocolate ganache.

But wait we had cake pops too.

I discovered the recipe for these oreo cake pops from Bubble and Sweet and I must say that they went down a treat. I think next time, I would make them a tad smaller so everyone could have a little bit of everything. But my oh my they where good.

Need to practice the perfect ball shape cake pop.

My baby girl turns 2!

My little girl turned two the other day, and I decided that I would be making her a Fairy toadstool cake.

Everything is all handmade (except the candles). The top cake is milky way chocolate mud with milk ganache and the bottom is raspberry white chocolate with vanilla bean buttercream in the middle surrounded by white chocolate ganache.

This is my first attempt at modeling a figure. Need room to improve, but over all I was happy with it.

Birthday cupcakes for my sister in law.

I called my sister in law and asked what type of cake she would like for her birthday. She said cupcakes, and if I wanted to try a new recipe than I could.

I did chocolate mudcake cupcakes, topped with fondant toppers of dragonflies and ladybirds. My daughter told me that I had to have some glitter things in there also, for Aunty Shell.

So I made these and they are chocolate mudcake cupcakes, with chocolate hazelnut buttercream and fondant cupcake toppers.

Happy Father's Day.

I asked my Dad what he wanted for Father's Day, and he said cake.

This cake is a first for me in so many ways. It is a new recipe that will be used again, it is the first time that I used a shaped tin, buttercream was used instead of ganache (never again on a shaped cake), and using red fondant.

I was in tears trying to cover it and then had to go into damage control. I was pleased with it in the end, but getting to the end, was such a relief.

The cake is a vanilla buttercake with vanilla bean buttercream.

I asked my hubby what he would like and his answer was "Macarons".

Third attempt and was so happy with how these turned out.

Pistachio macarons with hazelnut ganache.

Macarons.

I have been eyeing off Macarons for a while. I finally give in and cooked a batch of macarons.

My first attempt was going great until it came time to heat the sugar syrup and I discovered that my candy thermometer was not working. So I plowed on and these where the end results.

Strawberry macarons.

My second attempt went heaps better. I went and got a new thermometer and off I went. They need to be cooked for a little bit longer.

Passionfruit macarons.

I have been reading up a bit more on macarons and have discovered that I had not been folding it for long enough.

I also tried a new white chocolate recipe and made some cupcakes. These white chocolate cupcakes are covered with strawberry buttercream.

Jackson' Naming Day cake.

My Sister in law asked me to make a cake, for her nephew's Naming Day. I spoke to his mum Kate, and she said that she wanted a train, Happy 1st Birthday and also to say Congratulations on your Naming Day.

This is what I came up with. They where more than over the moon with it.

Chocolate mudcake with chocolate ganache and all the decorations are all hand made, except for the candle.

Cakes, cakes and more cakes.

My brother and sister in law, have just had their first child, so when it came time for the Baby Shower, I put my hand up to make her a special cake.

Chocolate mudcake, with chocolate ganache. This was a new recipe that I tried, and I have to say that it will be the one that I use from now on. All the figures are made from fondant and are all ediable.

Whilst I was at the Baby Shower, hubby and the girls attended a little boy's third birthday. They asked for a chocolate mudcake, with chocolate ganache, and it had to be Batmam themed.

My niece was having her 9th birthday and she asked for a cake with hearts, and she also stated that it had to be hot pink and black. So this is what I came up with.

Crunchie mudcake with chocolate ganache.

I finally attended the cake course of my dreams at Planet Cake. Here is the end product that I created when I was there. It was also the same day of my nieces birthday party, so they got two cakes instead of one.

This is everything that I have made to date. I am in the middle of planning my youngest daughter's 2nd birthday cake for next month, and have a few little treats that I wont to try my hand at for her party also.

So stay tuned and check out my latest creations, that are to come.

Easter Cookies

I decided to try my hand at different flavoured cookies, for my nieces and nephews for Easter this year. They always get heaps of chocolate, so I thought that this was something different.

Here is a collection of all the different styles of cookies that I made and decorated.

These are vanilla sugar cookies, with royal icing. My piping has improved so much since my first ever cookie. But I do need to remind myself to go slowly.

I had to throw in a little bit of chocolate. Chocolate sugar cookies, with royal icing.

I loved the vanilla cookies the best, but the chocolate ones are also pretty good. My whole family loved them. The only thing that is wrong with these cookies, is that it was pretty hard to stop at only one.

Baked and decorated Cookies.

I have always loved the look of cookies, that are baked and decorated so beautifully. So I was on a mission to bake myself some and decorate them with royal icing.

So I found a great gingerbread cookie recipe and set to work on baking and creating. I made some crowns and butterflies for my eldest daughter and I have to say that they were pretty good.

This is a gingerbread cookie, flooded with royal icing sugar and decorated with caches.

So I created some more of these cookies and everyone loved them. I did some for christmas and I made these cookies for my youngest daughter's 1st birthday. I was so looking forward to seating down, once everyone had left to have one with a cup of tea, but no they all went.

My brother had his birthday in March this year, and I asked what he wanted me to bring. A batch of your cookies thanks.

So gingerbread cookies with homemade royal icing this time.

I also decided to try another flavour of cookies.

Honey cookies.

The first batch that I baked, I made them to thin. So in true style, I shipped some of the thinner cookies of to my neighbours to sample. But don't worry, I did true them myself. They are better a thicker cookie.

Honey cookies, with homemade royal icing. I love the three that are in the middle.

Cupcakes.

These cupcakes, where made for Easter and are vanilla cupcakes, with white chocolate buttercream. The toppers are all hand made, and made from fondant. They are meant to represent Easter eggs.

I have made more cupcakes, I promise. But I seem to have not taken any photo's of them.

Cakes that I have created so far.

This is a chocolate mudcake with chocolate ganache that I made for my sister in laws birthday. I have learnt alot more since this cake, but I love the colour combo.

This cake was for Father's Day at my parents house. The top tier was a bailey's, coconut and white chocolate mudcake, with white chocolate ganache and the bottom layer, was a banana cake with white chocolate ganache also.

This was my daughter's cake for her actual party that we had. It ended up being a butter cake with white chocolate ganache.

This is hubbies birthday cake, that was on Easter this year. It is a cherry ripe mudcake with a milk chocolate ganache around it, topped with shredded cherry ripe.

My little sister turned 30 this year, so I made her a coconut cake with white chocolate ganache. I was not overly keen on the colour combo, but over time I ended up liking it. Also my first time working with black fondant. Note to self: Do not work with it again, when the kids are still up.

Cakes worth looking at.

After thinking that I was doing the right thing and showing you all, where I started my cake decorating at, I have come to realise that I am so embarrassed by them, that I thought I had better show my daughters fourth birthday cake. She told me that she wanted a castle and princesses. So this is what I came up with.

Two tier cake. Bottom is chocolate mudcake with chocolate ganache, and the top layer is a carrot cake with white chocolate ganache.

But before this was created I had a go at my youngest daughters first birthday cake. At the time, I didn't realise that you had to go with time lines. So this was a bit of a rush job and this is what I came up with. Chocolate mudcake with chocolate ganache.

Finally joined, and become a blogger

It has taken me a little while, but I have finally decided to join the world of blogging and show case, some of my creations that I have been making and creating.
I think that I will show you all the first cake that I did for my daughter's first birthday almost 5 years ago, and I was so upset with how it turned out, that I decided to try and out do myself each year. It was just a simple buttercake with buttercream icing.

The next year, I tried to do a little better, but not as much as I wanted. I think we can all guess who it is. But the third year, I was a little bit more impressed, but it didn't really look at all like Tinkerbell.

But the fourth year was a bit more special than the first three, as it was the first time that I did a fondant covered cake for my daughter. But I will need to leave it there just for tonight and I will have to upload alot more photo's of what I have already done.

Until than.